Ningbo Addiction Research and Treatment Center, School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315010, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:286404. doi: 10.1155/2012/286404. Epub 2012 Feb 14.
Relapse to drug seeking was studied using a rodent model of reinstatement induced by exposure to drug-related cues. Here, we used intravenous drug self-administration procedures in rats to further investigate the beneficial effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on heroin-seeking behavior in a reinstatement model of relapse. We trained Sprague-Dawley rats to nose-poke for i.v. heroin either daily for 4 h or 25 infusions for 14 consecutive days. Then the rats were abstinent from heroin for two weeks. 2 Hz EA stimulation was conducted once daily for 14 days during heroin abstinence. We tested these animals for contextual and discrete cue-induced reinstatement of active responses. We also applied immunohistochemistry to detect Fos-positive nuclei in the nucleus accumbens (NACc) core and shell after reinstatement test. We found that active responses elicited by both contextual cues and discrete cues were high in the rats trained with heroin than in saline controls. EA treatment significantly reduced active responses elicited by discrete cues. EA stimulation attenuated Fos expression in the core but not the shell of the NACc. Altogether, these results highlight the therapeutic benefit of EA in preventing relapse to drug addiction.
使用与药物相关线索暴露诱导的复吸啮齿动物模型研究了觅药行为的复发。在这里，我们使用大鼠的静脉药物自我给药程序，进一步研究电针（EA）对复吸模型中觅药行为的有益影响。我们训练 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠每天进行 4 小时或 14 天连续 25 次静脉注射海洛因的鼻刺激。然后，大鼠海洛因戒断两周。在海洛因戒断期间，每天进行 2 Hz EA 刺激 14 天。我们测试了这些动物的环境和离散线索诱导的主动反应复吸。我们还应用免疫组织化学方法检测复吸测试后伏隔核（NACc）核心和壳中的 Fos 阳性核。我们发现，接受海洛因训练的大鼠比接受盐水对照组的大鼠更易产生由环境线索和离散线索引起的主动反应。EA 治疗显著减少了离散线索引起的主动反应。EA 刺激减弱了 NACc 核心但不减弱壳中的 Fos 表达。总的来说，这些结果强调了 EA 在预防药物成瘾复发方面的治疗益处。
